Vehicle roof structures are generally constructed with roof rails on opposite lateral sides of the vehicle being supported by pillars above the doors and windows of the passenger compartment. The roof rails are connected below the outer surface of the roof by a plurality of bows that extend laterally above the passenger compartment.
Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning (HVAC) ducts and vents are provided inside vehicle structures such as the dashboard, doors, floors and roof. Routing HVAC ducts between the roof bows and headliner of a vehicle may be an efficient way to provide heating, ventilation and air conditioned air to rear seat passengers. However, assembling HVAC ducts below roof bows results in a reduction of available headroom in the vehicle.
Roof bows are normally formed as sheet metal stampings that function solely to reinforce the roof of a vehicle. HVAC ducts are normally formed as plastic tubes and function solely to direct air to areas within the vehicle that require ventilation. Both roof bows and HVAC ducts add weight to a vehicle and consequently reduce fuel efficiency because of the weight of the parts. In addition, roof bows and HVAC ducts are separately assembled to a vehicle adding to the complexity of vehicle assembly processes.
This disclosure is directed to solving the above problems and other problems as summarized below.